Tire-shoe.



R'. ROWLEY & J. J. COOMBER.

' TIRE SHOE. APPLIGATION HLM) HAR. 2'5, 1910.

Patented May 9, 191] UNiTED sTnTEs PATENT onirica.

vROBERT noWLEY, or NEW YoEK, N.l Y., AND JAMES J. oooMBEE, or JERSEY CITY, NEW

' JERSEY.

TIRE-SHOE,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 9'. A1911.

To all whom it may "concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT RowLnY, a

' citizen of the United States, residingat New York city, in the county of New York and State of 'Few York, and .lAMns J. Cooiiisnn,

'a citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey City, in the county of Hudsonand State of Newl Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tire-Shoes, of which the following is a' specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a tire-shoe earcass and also to a completed tire-slice, either of the clencher-edged or mechanical-ly fastened type.

The objects of the invention' are to increase'y the strength and density o f the carcass, which comprises superimposed layers of duck or the like and Vulcanizable rubber, being conveniently made ofV so-called 1 fi'iction fabric, that is, suitablecloth surfaced with vulcanizable rubber. vThese carcasses when finished are usually assembled with annular treads of rubber, and are then subjected to operations attending vulcanization.

As is well known, tire-shoe carcasses are now built up on annular mandrels of various diameters and cross-sectional area, and of somewhat varying but generally more or less round or ofal cross-sectionsgthe superimposed frictio'n strips being cut on the bias and drawn circumferentially around the mandrel and one over another, and stitched down against the sides and toward the inner periphery of the mandrel. By stitching7 in this connection is meant a rubbing, and not a sewing, operation. The bias cut, while greatly reducing the normal strength of the fabric, is essential in this' old inodev of Vconstruction in order to make the side and marginal portions of the strips smooth-fitting and without wri nkl es whereby .air-spaces would be formed and effect points of structural weakness in the completedshoe. By our invention, the frictioiifabric need not be eut on a bias, but may be cut straight along, not across, the threads iiitostrips of .ameter of the mandrel.

suitable width, which will vary somewhat according to the cross-sectional are: and di- Ve say that bias cut strips need not be used; but within the broadest scope of our invention they may be use... although with results inferior, as a general rule, to the results obtainable from use of the preferred and best form of our iiivention. In the 'accompanying drawings, illustrating the principle of our invention and the best mode now known to us of applying that' principle, and also one method of making ournew tire-shoe carcass and tire-shoe, Figure l indicates a portion of la strip of duck cut along the warp 'and not on the bias, the rubber incorporated with it to form friction being omitted for greater clearness, and the threads being enlarged. Fig.

2 is a cross-section of a completed shoe. Fig.

3 is a'p'erspective view of a portion of an annular mandrel tubularly wound, to show one .process of making our invention, by reversed spiral strips, one over the other, to forni a foundation for the clencher bead rings subsequently located on opposite sides of the foundation near the inner periphery of the mandrel. As shown, the foundation consists of two superimposed, reverse-spirally wound strips. Fig. 4- is a tcrosssectional view of the mandrel and the foundation -winding shown in Fig. 3,.with the two clenclier-bead rings in `place and assembled ing, to separate the bead-ring supports, and

to sever the foundation around. the inner periphery to form the shoe and for removal of the mandrel and the bead-riiig supports. This View also shows the separation of the tion in consequence of the lateral projection ofthe beadring supports. Fig. 5 is a crosssectional view 4illustrating the parts -in position for removal of the bead-ring supports, and rubbing, working or stitcl'iing"7 into place of the free margins 'of the secondary' lor final' winding while the carcass is still on the mandrel. Fig. G shows, in lcross seetion, the shoe carcass on the mandrel after.

-outer winding from the sides of the foniidathe free margins ofthe outer wrapping aref positioned. Fig. 7 shows another form off105 our invention in process, and in which the Iii home, and will then stick in place.

has two parallel cuts Ispaced apart around its inner periphery for removal of an in-v teriorlv peripheral, annular section of the foundation and linal winding, and for removal of a three-part l'ire-siu'iporting ring and the mandrel.

lteferrlng to the dra,\\'i1igs, hf is a'n annular mandrel and l a strip of friction fabric cut along the warp 50,' that is, transversely of the weft threads y, and parallel to the warp threads, leaving the latter un cut at their longer opposite edges. This fabric is closely woven duck, suitably iinpregnated or coated with rubber, and known as friction fabric. ilueh a non-bias cut strip is wound spirally and drawn tightly around the, mandrel to incluse it tubularly. 2 is another strip of similarly cut friction fabric, Awound reverse-spirally over the winding l. All the windings lap marginally as indicated, and all are drawn as tightly as feasible in place. As the friction fabric is normally adhesire, the superimposed strips of hoh the primary or initial and of the secondary or final windingsl form a unitary mass when they are in contact..

As we are now describing the use of our invention in the production of cleucher tireshoes, we note that the primary, initial or foundation winding, shown made up of two reverse-spiral windings, l and 2, may consist of a single spiral. winding or of more than two reverse-spiral windings, as preferr-ed.

When the, spirally-wound foundation' of desired thickness has been` formed tubnlarly around the mandrel, for clenchet` shoes, annular, nietalllc-clencher bead-ring supports S, of a diameter to lit within the interior periphery of the foundation tube, are put in place either before or after the cleneher bead rings 3 (which are made of strips of suit able cross-sectional contour,) are applied to the sides of the tubular formulation, adjacent to its inner periphery. As these bead rings are of unvulcanized rubber, and as the outer surface of the friction foundation is adhesive, the clencher beads may be pressed Consel quently it is of no moment in which order the bead rings and bead-ring supports are' assembled with the foundation. The beadring supports are shown as a pair of annular rings of equal width, and each formed, at its outer edge, with an outwardly extending flange adapted to sustain the lower outward sideof a bead ring and also the secondary tubular winding lV, which is composed of as manyreversespirally Wound, straight-- cut strips as may he needed to bring the carcass to the desired thickness. The inner edges of the xsupports S contact midway between the sides of the shoe, and their flanged,

"outwardsides project laterally beyond. the

mandrel.

When the component strips or the seeondary winding are drawn in place, the laterally projecting side flanges'of the support ing ring S prevent contact of the innermost strip et with the foundation winding, from the flanges to points on the sides of the foundation, thus forming annular chambers on each side of the :foundation and extending above the usual concavity 5 of the bead rings. The inner peripheral corners of the members of the beadsupport are chamfered at (l to facilitate the insertion between them of a knife or cutter K thrust through the secondary winding and thence between the supports S, S, and then through the foundation winding to slit the complete tubular winding around its inner periphery for re.- moval of the supports'S, S and mandrel M, and for the conversion of the tube into shoeform. A shoe carcass thus produced may he made very compact, according to the tension applied to the strips when they are spit-ally wound in place; and as the strips are straight eut. (according to the preferred' feature of our invention) and not out on the bias, great tension may be applied to them without stretching them out of normal shape.

ln our new tire-shoe, the sides of the shoe, where, shoes are most apt to burst in use, are made much stronger than by the present process, which involves the circumferential stretching of strips one upon another around the mandrel, and the rubbing-down of the opposite sides ofthe strips upon the mandrel sides, these prior strips being' eut.

on the bias, and each consisting, in part, of two or more pieces cemented endwise together. Tire shoes heretofore built up on annular, rotary mandrels, usually involve a variety of successive manual operations, the

operator turning the mandrel from vertical into one horizontal position and then turningl the mandrel over into horizontal'position to bring the theretofore lower side of the shoe uppermost, and using a variety of hand tools to rub down the layers and different parts thereof one upon another. The

,so-alled stitching operation is done by a.

plain-edged, chisel-like tool, and handwheels comprising thin disks and cylindrical rollers of various contoursware successively used for consolidation of the, constituent plies and rubbing vout of Wrinkles and air chambers.. From three to .fou1,shoes, ac-

eordingto size, constitutes a normal days` work for one man by the old handv process.

Our preferred winding operation elimnateei.`

many of. these. hand operations, quickens production, and produces a substantiallv better carcass, each ply inthe spiral-winding operation being drawn tight and smooth either upon the mandrel or an underlying I ply. As the plies arelirst woundispirally and tightly one upon another. t-nev are drawn into tight, adhesive relations, for all the plies are im` regnated and coa-,ted with vnlcanizable rub'fer, so that they arel adhe-' six-ely united during their superimposition. This is very important for the elimination of spaces containing air; for in th'e'subse-v quent vulcanizing operations, if there'are' any air-filled spaces in the carcass, the air becomes heated and expands, producing blis-l ters, which result in an inferior product known as a second; or else the carcass has to be disintegrated and built upanew, in whole or in part, as the case may be, at very considerable expense.

Our new carcasses and tires may bc made either by hand or by a suitable mechanical apparatus. l

In Fig. 7 we show anotherform of procedure. Herein, the shoe is of the wellknown Hartford-Dunlop style, without clencher edges and clencher rings, the edges being reinforced by wires y; and in this case two peripheral cuts are made, as indicated by two knives K, for withdrawal of the mandrel. As shown, the rings S are present for convenience in locating the annular reinforcements y.

Various other forms of shoes may be made' in accordance with our' invention, which is mainly characterized by the break-joint ar rangement of superimposed strata of car' cass-forming strips whereby tightness and strength Aare secured, and also by the fact that the carcass-forming strips have their opposite ends at or near the opposite edges4 of the open-bellied carcass or shoe. lVe have referred to the carcass-forming stripsas being of friction fabric, and by this we mean any suitable fabric treated in any suitable manner with any suitable rubber4 preparation or rubberdike compound.

After the .carcass has been built up, a vulcanizable rubber tread 8 is stretched in place around the outer periphery and sides of the carcass; and then, 'according to our preferred mode lof treatment, the carcass and assembled tread will be wound in accordance with the method and apparatus set forth in our allowed applications Serial No. 511,188 and Serial No. 511,189, preparatory to the vulcanizing operation, after which the assembled tread, carcass and mandrel are to bc removed from the heaters used in the vnlcanization; the mandrel being afterward rcmoved from within the carcass, whereupon it will have the form shown in Fig. 2.

Another advantage of our product lies in the fact-that the carcass is so thoroughly consolidated or compacted by the tensioning of the reverse-spiral windings that, in the subsequent )re-vulcanizing operations of wrapping with a strip or strips of wet cloth and tensioning the wrapping under great pressure, usually applied by hydraulic presses, to force the wrapping-compression rings inwardly toward the opposite marginal parts of the shoes when on the mandrel,

lessy strain is required on the wrapping, which 'therefore lasts longer than at present; and

this is a matter of considerable economic irnportance in the manufacture of tire-shoes by the open cure vulcanizing process, for at present the wrapping strips are speedily worn out and have to be renewed at material expense. y

Of course, our new carcasses may be vulcanized while inclosed in metal molds, if that method of curing is preferred to the .open cure process. Both methods of curing are well known. f The clencher-beads constitute annular reinforcements for the shoe margins, as do also the annular wires indicated in Fig. 7;

and it will be observed that by our inven-v tion, these annular reinforcements are embedded and confined in the marginal portions of'the shoe, between layers of superimposed short strips extendingdownwardly from margm to margin in diagonal relations to the circumference of the tread. Prior tothe wrapping operation, if that is used; but, at any rate, prior to vulcanization, the free ends of these diagonally disposed strips that are formed by the interior peripheral cutting ofthe carcass while in its tubular stage, are adhesively united to inclose theannular reinforcements. The ends of these strips may be trimmed off as may be required in the production of shoes of different physical cross-sectional form, and thus the space between the free edges of the shoe may be varied.

In the completed shoe, the rectangular strips of which the stratum or strata of the foundation is composed are shorter than the strips of which the stratum or strata. into -which the secondary winding is converted by the cutting operation, in consequence of the secondary winding or windings encompassing the bead-rings and the bead-ring supports S. The strips into which the sec ondary windings are converted are long enough to ybe bent down (by stitching, for example,) into the circumferential concavities 5 ot' the'bead-rings, and thence over the thereto adjacent outer wall of each beadring, covering the two surfaces of the beadrings that are exposed when the bead-rings are applied to the foundation. The free ends of the strips of the foundation and of the strips formed ont of the secondary windings are united along the edges of the Shoe, as is plainly shown in Figs. 2.and 6. We may here remark that an advantage of our shoes not heretofore referred to lies in the fact that in case of repairs the strips may be dev ulcanized and readily separated at the edges of the shoe, and while the shoe is in a devujlcanized condition may be peeled ot very readily tol any desired extent,

We have above referred ro the building i up of shoe carcasses hy 'the old hand opera f ion, on rotalahle, annular mandrels; but we are aware of the hleiherling and Stevens laizen No. '762,561 o June lei, 1905i, showing a machine for making Jdiese endless, open-bellied or open tire-shoes direct from sheeted ahric; and We are also aware of States Parent No. 9-l1,962 of November 30, 1909, showing a machine for the Same purpose; but in the case of each machine, bias out goods are siretehed circumferentiaiiy around the mandrel and Worked down upon ihe sides iihereof h v mechanisms corresponding l,r'enerally i'o he hand tools now eoinnionly used in iihc hand process. Vhile i'he Smic patent emphasizes his use of alien Boating layers of crossed i'aoric in the form oi? iricion or shin-coated strips of canvas, doel; or the like. cui' on he bias, ye we do noe ondersand that by crossed fabric?7 is ineaii any diagonai placement of superini posed, rcverseepirally wound strips such as is due to our process, hut merely that the hiascu sirips eirained circiunfereniially around ihe mandrel are relaiiveiy arranged io cause the threads of one bias-cut strip ifo stand crosswise to the threads of another bias-cui', strip.

l: will be obvious that if our inveniion is embodied in the nizmui'acture oi' shoe carcasecs :for mechanically fastened tires, such as those shown in Jdie Cole Paten No. 855,693 of June 4i, 1907, the supports S need not he used.

"We do not herein claim the method referred to, or any other method of making our new shoes, a method of making them.

forms the subject-matter of our' divisional olicaion, Serial lilo. 582,637 iled Septeiif if the' plane ci' che tire, at an acute angle mor an our inveii i have ivheir opposie ends transu fd in ifi-ie marginali portions of A)cher ringsemhedded in "ons of 'die shoe between ihe strips of inward straa exiendino' st ihe inner edges of the head rings and l 'ne strips oi? the outward siraa being loiieer than "the stripe of the inward sraia .,.i i 'lioin'iiiigg a close covering for 'che grooves and oui'iward Walls of 'the head r of the inward and outrvunited adjacent to but inwarci ci che inner edges 01E the bead rings, and ail strips and the head rings being viilceni'fzed Qogether in a unitary mass, 'efsimony whereof we have hereunto ed our respective signatures, in presence i oi' tivo 'witness-es.

ifi itnesses T i v ,rl Beilen, 777i r Nance, 

